


Ice and Wolves

by FallingQuasar



Category: Naruto
Genre: Dark, During Canon, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Ice release, Kiba Inuzuka-centric, Loss, Older Characters, Sad, Yuki Bloodline, kekkei genkai
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:15:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24312595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingQuasar/pseuds/FallingQuasar
Summary: There were several things in life a girl shouldn't have to stress over: Genocide, immigration, assassination…and certainly not that Inuzuka guy. Unfortunately for Kaiya Yuki, life has a lot of stress to offer. (There are timeline differences but similar events. Niche, but cute and fun!)
Relationships: Inuzuka Kiba/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 9





	1. Prologue

Muffled words and damp snow crunched methodically next to Kaiza's ear. A white-dusted bush shook past his sightline, where a splay of frozen pebbles stabbed his face like ice-needles. He moved to cover himself, but his body had locked solid. He groaned and sensed a twisting pull on his shoulders. Another hard tug backward, and a mound of glacial material collected around his head.

He was being dragged across the ground.

Kaiza swayed from various states of consciousness that morning but came alive when he ripped his mouth open to scream. A black layer of frozen blood cracked across his lips and down his chin.

"Wait-"

Sunlight reflected off the snow into his eyes and he couldn't tell where he was. He searched his memories for the previous night. At first, all he remembered was the ice. Where was the ice? He lifted his head when the kidnappers ignored his protest. The block was leaning on its side against the ground, still nearby. He needed to stand up. He needed what was inside.

"I have to get that ice, Let me go!" he grunted and coughed. His body wouldn't move.

"You're very sick." a woman lectured Kaiza. "We need to get you warmed up."

"What were you doin' huggin' an ice block, friend? You're gonna die of hypothermia!" a man laughed.

"It's a baby." Kaiza stated weakly. His eyes closed against the blinding sun and he stopped moving across the ground. They'd placed him inside a warm cart.

"He's insane." The travelers sighed amongst themselves. A wet rag bit the old blood off his face, waking him briefly.

"Yuki." Kaiza spoke through clattering teeth. "It's Yuki…"

.

xxx

.

_Kaiza stood rigid as a statue while he narrowly avoided vomiting._

_Wisps of snowy fog cut through the young man as he watched the orange haze shrouding his village. Dancing figures of smoke appeared to tear at the ground like spirits desperate to retrieve their lost bodies. Bodies which littered the earth around him._

_Kaiza's numbed arms swung to his sides, not caring for the prized game landing by his feet on the hard ground. How long had he been stuck like this?_

_He instantly knew why this happened. The reason, tucked quietly in the storage of his brother's home._

_Kaiza took his first step into the arctic graveyard. Snow began to race around him, pelleting his face as he trudged through. He was hypnotized by shock, unable to look away from the bodies half buried in snow. Many familiar faces twisted with silent screams, many were slashed across the neck and torso, some were burned into the ground with their homes. No one had escaped far before they were cut down by mysterious enemies. Except…_

_"Hey!" He cried out and leaped into the wreckage of a burned home._

_A trembling body stood several feet away from Kaiza but the floor gave in, sending them both through the shallow splintering base. A log uncomfortably jammed into Kaiza's shoulder and he debated whether or not to just go to sleep. How easy would it be to just fall asleep and die? Fatigue begged him to close his eyes and give in to the increasingly cozy burrow._

_"D-Did you know?"_

_Kaiza's eyes shot open._

_"Hiro?" He rasped, "What are you doing? What happened!" The sound of coughing was his friend's only response._

_Kaiza threw his arms out of the sharp wood and he dragged himself from the floorboards. He placed his bloody hands firmly onto Hiro's shirt and pulled._

_"Don't t-touch m-!" The man shook facedown into the ground._

_"What are you talking about? You're going to die out here," Kaiza yelled, "Where is your coat? Hurry up!" He turned the fading man upward, but the face looking up at him did not resemble anyone he knew. It was a rabid animal, hatred seared into the pair of deep-set eyes and white foam froze onto it's cracked lips, "Did y-you know?"_

_"What? Did I know what?" He shook Hiro in and out of consciousness, but he could no longer speak. With the last bit of strength he had, he reached his frost bitten arm toward a particularly damaged house and he closed his eyes for the last time._

_Kaiza slugged his fist against his face; but it was pointless. He took several moments to silently apologize. All of this…it was his fault._

_He stumbled out from the broken flooring toward the house where Hiro pointed: His brother's home. It was completely crumbled to the ground._

_Kaiza didn't understand the risk before pleading with his family to rescue a certain woman, so many months ago. A person that many others wanted dead._

_They had found her with a baby- trapped in an unforgiving storm and ravaged by starvation; Yuki clansmen. More often called "scourge of their land", anyone with a strange manifestation of power: Kekkei genkai. He could not weep for his own men, but for the woman who lie in the streaks of her own cursed blood, he broke._

_Kaiza nearly threw up again, but there'd been nothing in his spasming stomach to empty so he merely dry heaved in pain. Underneath the floors was a small room, where the woman's body laid. Her hair was as black as the ash surrounding them, gray eyes wide open. Her misshapen corpse remained in a sideways fetal position but her head hung backwards, exposing a gash that nearly severed it from her body. Ice unnaturally spiked out from around her. One of the projections cracked and collapsed to the ground and Kaiza lurched backward._

_He observed the woman closely, unsure if he'd ever see another one like her again. Kaiza wondered if she had witnessed everyone's murder before her own. Perhaps she'd seen and felt responsible, maybe she let them kill her in the hopes they'd spare the others? Perhaps not. He only knew she was not inherently evil._

_So where's the baby? Kaiza wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing the corpse, but needed to know._

_A large furrow in the ground beckoned him. It started near the house and remained as a perfect solid line in the snow as far as the fog allowed him to see. He didn't care if it were a trap, he just wanted to know…_

_It only took Kaiza an hour of walking before he discovered several obnoxious noises deep in the stark white forest._

_He peeked carefully over a hill near a trickling excuse for a river, and he saw them._

_A quick flash of hot anger sparked inside his body before tallying them up. Only three people? Took down his whole tribe? Three men were hacking at a large block of ice, miserably failing to reach the contents inside, which Kaiza could only guess was the other possible survivor of the assault. Yuki._

_"Shit this block isn't breaking!" He hammered at the cocoon once more, not even earning himself an icy kickback._

_"The kid is frozen solid." A fourth man spoke in startling proximity to Kaiza. Dammit! Four. "The- Rat- probably just killed it before we got the chance." Hesitation on every spoken word._

_"You don't know that." The biggest guy of the group spat at the solid ice, "It could be protection."_

_"Yeah, when you want something dead, you better make sure the head is off its body…" A scrawny guy made a slicing gesture with his thumb against his own throat and cackled._

_"Fuck me then!" The nearest man yelled out, "We'll just keep it! I'm sure it'll thaw out real quick right? It'll thaw out a dead-ass-worthless baby we spent all day killing."_

_"What's your problem?" Scrawny man chuckled._

_He scoffed back at them, "Come on guys, this thing is over 100 pounds, lets just throw it down the river or something."_

_"You'd risk letting one of those creatures survive? I could kill you just for thinking that…" The mood turned sour against the fourth man and he gulped nervously, stumbling more over his words._

_"Its just annoying- is all- I mean really. The kid's gonna die anyway. No food or air, the chakra in there isn't a never-ending life force." he pressed his defense._

_"Can I knock his teeth out, boss?" Silence._

_It sounded like a joke at first, but once the big guy nodded his approval the young man screamed out. "Wait!"_

_No! Shit!_

_Without thinking, Kaiza took hold of a branch in front of him and drew back, snapping the bark off and grunted with pestering fear. What am I doing?!_

_"Hey! What's that?"_

_Kaiza covered his mouth but his jagged breathing couldn't be stopped, who in their right mind would surrender their hiding spot to these senseless men? Suicidal!_

_The three of them screamed out different threats, something about promising to end it quickly, or painlessly. It all jumbled together into unintelligible anger. It shouldn't be too tough to outsmart them right? Kaiza prayed and jumped out with his arms in the air, "Sorry! Don't attack just yet." A nervous laugh followed._

_"Hm, this is too weird," Scrawny-guy laughed through the tension, "We must have missed you back at the nothing-town, huh?"_

_"Hey, he does sort of look like em," the big-guy agreed._

_"You think I'm one of them?" Kaiza interrupted with a scoff and shook his head, "This is just great. I wasn't planning on getting involved but you guys sort of forced me to when you stole what's rightfully mine."_

_"Yours? Alright moron, I'd suggest turning around and walking your ass back to where you came from. That or you can stay and get carved. It's your call." They seemed to advance on Kaiza each moment he glanced at the ice block, running back would be a death sentence…_

_"If I die you'll never get to that baby." He stood tall and confident, betraying his fear. Their eyes still held disinterest, but at least they quit advancing. He guessed he'd only get one more chance to hold their attention._

_"I-I know how to kill her."_

_"Really," The weapon-guy leaned back on his axe. "This'll be good."_

_"I'm serious. You idiots got to that village before I had the chance to sneak in their house."_ Rein it in a bit Kaiza _, "I walked away for one second and you ruin the only chance I had! There's no way you're gonna get into that fortress now." He held his breath, begging not to close his eyes or fall to the ground. He had to hold onto some sort of dominance here. So much for reining it in..._

_"Oh yeah?" The boss-guy twirled a knife around his finger, "So how do you suppose we kill it?"_

_"I was going to wait until they were asleep tonight, catching rats off guard is the fastest way to get rid of them." He caressed the surface of the ice, indeed seeing the clouded image of a child tucked away inside._ Be alive!

_"Now I've got all this bullshit to burn through. And we'll need a powerful fire-based shinobi, nothing else can break through this ice." The group of men stood silently, contemplating what Kaiza had said. He had very limited knowledge on the ninja lifestyle and hoped he could get away with what little he knew._

_The scrawny guy piped up, "I know a couple of guys back in the mist village, you know, the one who made those bombs for the rat-lover's houses. I have a couple left here, lets blast them!" The weapon-guy swiped the precious bombs away from his comrade._

_"You sure we can't just cut through it? I spent a lot of money on those things…" He asked toward Kaiza._ Good _._

_He needed to get them away from the ice soon, or else he won't get much farther than this._

_"No. It can't be just any ordinary bomb, I've seen this kind of barrier before." The leader rolled his eyes._

_"Listen to me carefully, I happen to have some connections; if we can get to them we'll find a real easy way inside." The boss-guy finally held up his hand._

_"Just who are you, again? Are you working for somebody?" Their suspicious gazes worried Kaiza, it was time to get into character for real._

_"I'm no one. Just trying to give back as much to the land of water as I can. Those kekkei-genkai rats were responsible for the death of my entire family." A couple of the idiots cheered._

_"Yeah I hear ya on that! Fuck those rats."_

_"That sucks, you're still a kid yourself." Big-guy handed the knife to weapon-guy and walked over to Kaiza, patting the guarded man on the back._

_Kaiza touched the man's shoulder with disgust, hoping to translate that feeling into believable racism. "They stole my life from me, it's only fair to take theirs too, right?" He kicked over the block of ice, hoping the precious cargo was still safe. Strangely enough, the sympathy card won them over._

_"Here, have a meal on us, you look starved." Fourth-guy offered._

_"What were you even eating out there? The forest's got nothin'."_

_He sighed, "I dropped everything when I came back from hunting what I could. The scene disturbed me a little bit to be honest." Fourth-guy raised his eyebrows and Kaiza continued, "I almost thought it was the woman who burned down all those houses. Scared the crap out of me."_

_"We'll make sure you get your food back as long as you can help us get rid of this witch." Rat_ and _witch? Real creative asses we've got here._

_"I promise you, we'll get in there before tomorrow's over." Kaiza decreed._

.

xxx

.

"And then you killed 'em?" The man questioned, his eyes gazing at Kaiza with something akin to speculation, disbelief, and even a touch of amusement. Kaiza didn't want to say, but their bodies were only a short distance from them. He glanced in the direction of an axe handle sticking cockeyed from a blanket of snow; buried into something unspeakable.

"I had to protect her." He felt disgusting and uncomfortable, even in those luxurious furs they'd surrounded him with. His mind had blanked and he felt like a new person. He _would_ be a new person now; there was nothing left of his old life. He gripped hard onto the dense warmth.

"How?" The man pushed further, hurting Kaiza worse than the slash on his face.

"-Patience." Kaiza muttered. He couldn't bare to imagine those lifeless faces- even _if_ they'd been pure evil.

"I'll be damned. It really is a kid in there." The woman yelled to them, peering into the dripping transparent ice.

"Got that chisel with ya? We don' need to be pullin' along a deadweight." the man grumbled loudly. Kaiza bounced up in the cart when the man jumped off. He was thankful for the distraction, and relieved to know that they weren't planning to leave her behind.

"Let me help." Kaiza shifted himself to sit and the woman ran back to them, searching frantically for the instrument.

"Is it yours?" she asked as her partner backed their cart to the statue. Kaiza refused to look away from it.

"-Yeah." he said.

It took no time to release the baby from the fortress. The woman wrapped her in their thickest furs and nestled her in Kaiza's arms.

She wasn't crying.

"You don't mind us being here?" Kaiza asked, assuming she was still alive.

"Don' be stupid." his unknown rescuer reassured him. "We know a couple places that couldn't care less about any of that keka gen-whatever stuff."

"Thank you," Kaiza trembled with the whimpering baby.

Then she cried.

**AN** \- See you soon for chapter one. Would love some constructive criticism/ any feedback you got for me! Thanks


	2. Chapter 2

Kiba Inuzuka was restless in bed, but it was crucial he sleep in this morning. His bedroom was the only hiding place he could think of which came with the benefit of plausible deniability.

Getting out of shit was a skill he'd prided himself on and that's not to mention his killer talent for apologizing. He smiled under the sheets thinking about it; it seemed that nothing could match his arsenal of irresponsibility.

" _Hey,_ " Akamaru nuzzled his body. A sheet tightened over Kiba's head anyway; though he'd been wide-awake for who knows how long. Gentle, incessant scratches started barraging his chest but Kiba only thrashed to the side, flopping his weightless buddy off his stomach.

" _Lets go already!_ " he yipped.

A small grumble started deep in Kiba's throat. Akamaru had already forgotten about their deal. Not even a beautiful woman could rouse him from bed today- in fact, that was exactly who he'd been trying to avoid by camping out here. She wouldn't dare come look for him at home, right?

"I told you last night, I was gonna sleep in," he grumbled then ignored the following string of impolite barks.

Kiba really didn't feel like hanging out with Ami today. His _not_ -girlfriend friend had been so bossy lately! There'd definitely been some irritation growing in both of them the past few weeks and he needed a break from the turmoil. It wasn't that he'd hated her or anything; that description would be too harsh. She was an exciting friend to have; especially since she'd graduated a year ahead of his group. The perks of hanging out with the older crowd were great; the problem was their dates and parties were starting to cut into his training time- something he'd probably been slacking on to begin with.

That wasn't really his fault, though. How could he train when the only thing he could think about was how bored he was? What was the point if he'd never get to go on a freaking C-ranked mission like Naruto had? No other rookie team besides _his_ managed to snag themselves one of those things. What kind of injustice was that?

A sniffing nose slid around the sheets next to Kiba's face and managed to break through an opening. His reflexes couldn't save him from Akamaru's cold nose jamming into his ear.

"Ah, yuck! Fine we'll go!" Kiba attempted to nudge Akamaru off the bed but the dog leapt off, bouncing against the wall to the floor. _Jeez_. He mentally noted he'd ask Hana to bring Akamaru along with her pack the next time he needed a morning off. The two friends growled at each other and Kiba wrestled his sheets back over the dog on the floor.

Tiny limbs were kicking at him while he glanced over at the disabled alarm clock. Nice, he'd already been an hour late for his work-out date. _Hooray_ , he fisted the air ironically. Akamaru broke free and sprinted from the room, barking out nonsense.

Kiba yanked fist-fulls of his matted hair to get some motivation in him. He nearly kicked himself last night for assuming Kurenai-sensei would deny his request to skip out on their own team's morning exercise, in exchange for a run with Ami. But _no_ … _As long as you're productive in some other way, I'm okay with it_ , she'd said.

Sleeping in was not productive, he smirked. If he kept foregoing responsibility, his sensei would scold him and properly dismantle Ami's morning dates. He wouldn't have to be the bad guy then.

He just had to be really convincing; this was all an accident.

Just as he'd stood up from the floor, Kiba heard something unsettling at the front door. The Haimaru brothers seemed to be having a…disgruntled conversation. A complex series of growls and barks indicated they were particularly angry about something. _How annoying_ ; he'd already warned Ami they weren't huge fans of unwelcome guests. She was free to leave or free to stick around and get bit. Her call.

"Kiba!" Hana had slammed open the door to yell inside.

_God Dammit._ He rubbed his face abrasively then ran out the bedroom.

She must've been having a bad morning. Usually the Inuzuka household was a haven for privacy. No one cared what anyone else did around here. It'd been important for them to respect each other that way. Killing each other over the insignificant things was pointless- and probably part of the reason their family had been broken apart long ago in the first place.

Kiba's hair was still sticking up and he squinted out the front door; hoping to give off the illusion of being rudely awakened.

"Get this dog off me! Kiba promised he'd meet with me today!" Ami yelled while walking in backwards circles. Kiba clamped down on his tongue to control an inappropriate laugh aimed at Ami's expense.

Hana sat by a leashed dog, unamused, as the wolves chased Ami around. They were nearly twice her size and flicked her arms around easily; making sure to drench her in saliva while backing her out of their property. Her disgusted shrieks were piercing.

"Hey. Get off." Kiba waved off the brothers who seemed proud of themselves. He looked over to Hana who'd been frowning with a syringe cap clenched in her teeth.

"I'm very busy right now, if you can't tell." She mumbled around the object.

"Yeah well I am too-" Ami bit back.

Kiba grabbed her wrist and pulled away from the house. The wolves grumbled amongst themselves and chuckled about something he was sure he didn't want to know.

"What the hell is wrong with you animals?" Ami said. Kiba had to hand it to her; she knew, very well, how to push his buttons. It was draining.

"What are you doing here?" he ignored the question meant to insult him.

"We had a date, asshole. You stood me up."

Kiba met her glare directly and noticed a faint ring of swelling around those eyes. Shit, she'd been crying.

He scowled at her and feigned concern. He really hated when she cried; she wasn't as pretty that way. Her near-perfect oval face was framed by some of the softest hair he'd ever ran his fingers through. Her red rimmed eyes were a deep shade of violet like the smooth locks of her hair. Her shining lips pursed for only a moment, then they'd be releasing fury upon him. But, instead, what she said was not something he'd been expecting.

"Everyone hates me." She studied his face, hard.

Shit, sometimes looking into those eyes made him forget why she drove him so mad. Then she opened her mouth again.

"And you don't care," her voice deepened. That's more like it.

"Ami, no one hates you," he sighed, "Hana's just annoyed because you're not entitled entrance to our home-"

"Well, why not!" She interrupted. Kiba took a step back, nearly tripping over his own feet. His eyes narrowed at her in honest confusion, taking in the entirety of this craziness.

" _Go away_ ," Akamaru arffed defensively from behind the wolves who'd still been rolling with laughter. The pack earned themselves a warning glance from Kiba.

Ami stepped forward and stopped Kiba's retreat with an embrace. An unsettling attraction rushed in him at the catch of her scent and the conflicting emotions caused him to grimace. She always smelled so good. How could she always smell this good? Why couldn't her attitude be like that? He hugged her back after some apprehension.

"We're together, right?" she asked, cutting through the silence. His eyes rolled to the top of his head.

Kiba wasn't much one for commitments. He'd only just started his career- his whole life! Why did anyone get married anyway? Especially those in the vocations he and Ami were into. It made more sense to keep their options open and have fun. Shinobi weren't well known for their longevity, excluding the safe players or geniuses- neither of which applied to him. He knew already, someday he'd die for an important cause. Starting a family seemed absurd.

Whatever. He didn't care.

He hugged onto her tightly, speaking through silky hair into her ear, "When we started this, I thought we both agreed we wouldn't get attached like that." she jerked her head away from him and pushed back on his chest.

"That was forever ago, Kiba. I'm not doing this if you can't give a little more." Of course, that's what someone with feelings would want. She was talking like a reasonable person; not like a crazy maniac…which...she still was!

"Right now isn't good for me," How cliché. _Eh_ , he'd make it up to her later. Maybe tonight they'd sneak out and go somewhere nice, in public, then maybe she'd be in the mood to party later. After thinking it over for half a second, Kiba decided he'd rather have her than some boring person, or worse- be alone.

"Let's go out tonight, then we'll talk about it more." He reached his hand up to smooth back a piece of her hair, but she smacked him away and stepped back.

She frowned, "So what about now? You'll just let your sister treat me that way? Those monsters attack me then you won't apologize? I don't get it." She turned from him and swayed her hips as she walked away. He growled audibly. This constant back and forth with her feelings was so annoying.

"Okay. I'll talk to them, Ami," he conceded. "Just tell me you can at least understand why it's not right to walk into someone's house without permission. Especially one with guards who _don't like_ you." He'd been surprised they hadn't even bit her a little, yet.

She scoffed. "Fine. Guess I'll see you tonight then."

She twirled to face Kiba with a grin and disappeared in a flash, making him wonder if he'd just been manipulated.

" _Now! Let's walk!_ " Akamaru cheered.

.

xxx

.

A fiery sunrise glowed through the chalky window. Threads of dancing light seemed to widen the stale room, inhabited by a narrow wooden table with a few occupied chairs. Gray walls and floor were barren of any decorative distractions, save for an irritating set of fluorescent balls on each side of the exit. Nice and boring.

Ibiki Morino slouched in his chair, glaring heinously at the young woman in front of him. Then dragged his gaze down to the files he had on her. _Kaiya Yuki_. She'd arrived to the Konohagakure last night with the insufferable Kakashi Hatake and team. How she'd managed to evade Kakashi's senses for near the entire trip home made Ibiki suspicious as hell. If it were even true.

The copy-ninja could defend her all he wanted in the report he'd scraped together, but Ibiki wasn't in the mood for compassion.

His transcriber cleared his throat from the corner of the room and Ibiki took a deep calming breath. He pressed his fingers into the pressure building underneath his sinus. Why didn't he think to bring his coffee in with him? _Protocol_. It needed updating, but that procedure shit had been the cause of his daily migraines, no question about it.

He shouldn't be complaining. The Hokage paid him quite well for his irregular and interminable schedule. All of the mind-numbing paperwork was well worth the wage. He deserved it too; he was damn good at his job. So much so he'd had to learn when to appropriately, ahem, _cool it_ on the mind games. More than a handful occasions he'd gotten innocent- er somewhat innocent, enemies to confess to uncommitted crimes worthy of decapitation.

Now, how to best go about getting information from this one?

Kaiya was sitting board-straight and stared at him in the exact same way her photo was: Scared and tired. Absolute bullshit _._ He flipped the file closed and leaned his elbows in on the table, continuing to stare at her in silence. He noticed some increasing tautness in her face, the classic suppression of a yawn. Was she actually trying to appear strong?

Ibiki scratched at his chin, snagging his glove every so often on the stiff stubble and rough scarred skin. His fingers stilled on his chin in contemplation and he frowned when searching her wide eyes for something to work with. He was getting too old for this.

No, that'd be inaccurate; age itself wasn't the issue here. If he weren't K.I.A. before, he probably had at least 30 good years left before he'd retire. Instead, it was the long disputed realization as the years passed, Ibiki Morino, called 'sadist' behind his back as long as he could remember, had a growing soft spot for kunoichi.

The man scoffed, tightening his hands into fists. _Soft_. That word alone could invoke hostility.

Just because they were female didn't mean they were any less dangerous. Even so, statistically speaking, there were obvious hints of leniency in his actions toward women. If he noticed it himself, who knows how many others caught on?

Ibiki efficiently buried the small shred of pity he automatically had for the girl. She'd very likely been trained to appear scared and helpless under these circumstances. It would be foolish not to work those charming features: The constant upturn of her eyebrows, the slight frown tugging at the corners of her mouth, and those expressive bronze eyes… It made him sick.

She'd been stranded in here since her arrival, waiting patiently all night to speak with the Hokage. If she thought she'd get to talk to the sandaime _just like that_ she must have been stupid.

Kaiya's eyes appeared heavier since Ibiki had entered the room half an hour ago- she was fading fast, or was good at faking it.

He continued glaring at her face. Careful to catch any inconsistencies in her disposition, any micro-reactions that could tell him something about her thoughts, but she just froze in his hard gaze. Her breath started quickening and her dry mouth parted open. Something he'd been waiting for. _About time_.

Ibiki preferred to let the criminals speak first; he was curious to see where their minds went during an uncomfortable silence. He'd expected her to start off from a neutral standpoint. Something lighthearted perhaps? But after half an hour of silence he'd given up on that approach. Her eyelid twitched and she looked like she'd had it. So, she'd take the offensive route then. Not so good.

"Is this how your village treats all of its vulnerable refugees?" She bit back her tongue and covered her mouth at the outburst.

He smiled. Aggressively defensive? Interesting. Kaiya was doing her damned best to stay strong. What bothered Ibiki was the fear in her eyes seemed nothing less than genuine. He opened her file again to read the atrocious actions he'd seen earlier.

Ibiki chuckled quietly.

Kaiya blinked in surprise and his partner shook his head empathetically. He shifted in his seat as he adjusted the clip board in his hands, all while scrawling notes over the page.

"Interesting choice of words," Ibiki brought her attention back to himself, "but we'd hardly consider you a vulnerable refugee." His posture slacked, easing the tension in the room slightly. Chin resting on the back of his curled hand, "I'm going to be honest right now, dear. Based on your previous company, I'm having a difficult time convincing myself to not execute you right here."

Kaiya crossed her arms over her chest and leaned forward; dark hair spilled over the table. She kept her face down but Ibiki could clearly see she was sifting through an avalanche of thoughts. He wasn't going to wait patiently for her responses.

He pushed a little more, "We've got a long way to go before I ever consider granting your absurd request to talk to the Hokage."

She was frowning but her eyes showcased a series of desperate emotions; confused on how to proceed.

"I understand you don't know me, and I can't tell you to trust me based on my word alone," her voice tapered off. She was digging herself into a hole. "But your village owes me." She spoke, breathless. Her anxiety seemed insurmountable.

"Uh huh." He said lightly.

"My grandfather hired your men for a simple escort mission. Then they killed my sensei; my only biological family."

The man held his hand up and bore his eyes into her. "Nah uh, I don't think so."

"I'm n-!"

"Try again, sweetheart." His voice boomed over her accusations. "Your grandfather- lets ignore the fact he lied to us which could have gotten _all_ of you killed. Tazuna needed protection _from_ your sensei."

"It's not so black and white." Kaiya hung her head. What on earth was she thinking right now?

"Go on, then." She'd better explain, fast.

"I hate Zabuza for what he's done. It's so hard-" She gasped. "So hard for me to forgive Haku for defending his cause."

Ibiki watched her, motionless. Her body trembled as her breath became jagged, irregular. He needed to back off. He still had questions but she was about to pass out.

"It was just a job to them." She looked up at him again, more resolve. "Terrible terrible people paid Zabuza to stop Tazuna from building that bridge. I had no idea to what extent. But I _had_ to stay close to them, no matter what. I reject their reasons, but I will do anything to learn about this ability I've spent my whole life hiding. If I had gotten the chance to tell Haku... who Tazuna meant to me? Maybe things would have turned out differently."

Fuck calming her down, this was ludicrous.

"So tell me," He said. "What's going to stop you from assassinating your sensei's killer when you get your hands on him?" Kaiya's eyes closed and, finally, a line of tears fell down her face. She was mortified. Ibiki wished he could say she was faking this, but he hadn't once noticed anger or resentment toward Kakashi. If she were actually going to kill him, why hadn't she attempted so earlier? There was plenty of time before, but now she was in _his_ territory.

"I only killed bad people." Kaiya mumbled and wiped her hands across her sticky face.

"Why do you need to talk to the Hokage?" _FUCK._ That's not the question he intended to ask, they needed to learn more about Zabuza!

She stuttered. "-I just want some help."

Ibiki stood abruptly and his chair scraped back against the floor. He glanced over her figure once again before signaling to his partner that they were done for now. Once he turned his back, he heard her fighting for some control over her breathing. Just sad.

Ibiki wrapped her file into a tight cylinder and crumpled it when stepping out of the room. He didn't want to believe her. Only a psychopath could handle the company of a defected Kirigakure Swordsman.

The door slammed behind and Ibiki grumbled at the ninja waiting patiently outside the door for them. _You're still here?_

"Well?" Kakashi grinned.

"Shouldn't you be at home, sleeping? You _were_ up all night." _Then woke me up too damn early for your stupid report_. Ibiki rubbed between his eyes again.

"The Hokage's already interested in seeing her. Just wanted to let you know. Better tell him your thoughts soon, he's assigned a team to watch over her." Kakashi said.

_Seriously?_ "For god's sake, don't you guys need some time to recover?"

"I'm not suggesting _my_ team. Frankly, I need a couple days off. Oh, and that reminds me; if you could tell her we're even now?" Kakashi shrugged. "She's all yours, see ya."

"Hold on. What are you implying by _even now_?" Ibiki deadpanned, it seemed that his suspicions were warranted after all, "You let her follow you here, didn't you." The statement was not a question. _Risky move, Kakashi_.

"Come on, Ibiki, I put a lot of effort into that report. Did you even read it?"

"I'm not ready to clear her yet. There's something wrong about this. Do you really know how loyal she is to that criminal?"

Kakashi sighed. "You can't tell? I'm sure she had _some_ fondness for the guy. He did kill Gato. Though that was something she'd been pretty intent on doing herself. Either way, they're all gone and now she's aimless."

Ibiki had too many questions. The answers he'd prefer to hear from Kaiya herself, but _damn it_. He didn't want to traumatize her anymore. He contemplated getting Inoichi involved, but assumed the Hokage was already making those arrangements. Just one more question for her hero, then.

"Where'd they meet each other?" Ibiki's tone was borderline fed-up. Where was his fucking coffee?

"Well, like I said before... and wrote in the report, she said she was trying to kill off the drug lord who overran their town. Haku stopped her."

"What a coincidence." Ibiki said.

"Life is fun like that, isn't it? Fate intertwined...yada yada." Kakashi yawned.

"She's telling the truth?" Ibiki droned.

"Yup."

Ibiki sighed. "So jail is out of the question then?"

"That's up to you," Ibiki could have sworn Kakashi winked at him.

He tossed the disheveled papers at Kakashi. "I don't care anymore. Just get her to bed, _then_ you can enjoy a vacation. I'm getting some damn coffee."

"Softie." Kakashi teased.

Ibiki pretended he couldn't hear that.

.

xxx

.

Kiba arrived somewhat late at the team's designated tree and pushed the thought of Ami out of his mind.

They'd been waiting for Kurenai-sensei there, but she sure was taking her sweet time. Akamaru and Kiba grumbled back and forth impatiently; if there were any dumb missions to do he'd wanted to finish as soon as possible and get out of there. He needed something exciting to happen soon.

Right as he decided to lean back and take a nap on the tree, something disturbing caught his ear. Something...obnoxious. He didn't need acute hearing to know that Naruto was back. That wasn't the kind of excitement he was hoping for.

Kiba had a perpetual scowl set on his face. His eyes slit into terrifying thin lines and his nostrils flared uncontrollably. Ever so slowly, he reached upward, hands clamped tightly onto his fuzzy hood.

"Naruto." He growled deeply as he pulled the hood over his eyes. He crossed his arms in a resentful huff, throwing his head back against the tree behind him. Just speaking the guy's name aloud left a bitter after-taste.

Kiba's ears twitched at the sound of his laughter. It was a grand story Naruto had to share. Kiba felt like murdering Uzumaki - or at least hurting him. Really bad. Just to get that idiot to shut the hell up.

Apparently, Team 7 had just returned from their mission. The C-rank had turned more dangerous than they'd been expecting. Kiba's teeth ground as his jaw tightened, lips pulling back into an ugly snarl. Team 8's plentiful low-level _chores_ were not cutting it anymore for the impatient young man. He never cared much for the other team before, but now he loathed them.

Normally he wasn't in such a piss mood. Naruto had just been the final straw to top off the already shit-day.

Hinata had been hurt this morning. Thankfully not his fault since he wasn't even there, but he still felt guilty about it. No matter how many pep-talks and support he'd given- how many times he'd pushed her? How much more pushing did he need to give? _Maybe_ he just needed to work on his patience like Kurenai said...but whatever. The girl needed help, and he was getting sick of it. He couldn't bare to see sadness in her face.

Oh, of course, he couldn't forget the cherry on top- Ami, was being a royal bitch this morning. But he couldn't help looking forward to tonight. For some reason, like she was his guilty pleasure or something, Kiba couldn't really figure out. Which was upsetting.

"Um…Kiba?"

His angry eyes jerked up toward his questioning teammate, who's tightly bandaged arms hugged around her legs.

"Shouldn't we be, I- I don't know, congratulating Naruto?" Of course. Hinata to the rescue for her precious Naruto.

He scoffed, turning his head back down hatefully at his fellow graduates.

Through the mass of leaves he could see Naruto stick his tongue out at Shikamaru and Choji. Sasuke kept his eyes closed, donning a subtle smirk on his face with Ino clinging to his side. Sakura beamed proudly, looking as if she were standing 10 feet taller than the rest.

Jealously scorched his insides. What the hell made them so special?

He wouldn't have cared so much if it were any other team, hell, Sasuke and Sakura weren't even that bad. Just entitled and annoying…but at least he had some respect for them. It was Naruto. That incompetent brat had no right to brag so much about 'kicking ass' during his first real fight.

Kiba groaned loudly, ignoring the fact that his teammates could observe all of his tactless behavior.

How did that idiot manage to survive a deadly fight anyway? Against a rogue ninja? Must have been Kakashi's fight. His mouth twitched into a near smirk at the thought. Kiba wouldn't have bothered listening to the whole story anyway. Naruto was notorious for embellishment, chances were they didn't even have a fight the whole trip. It should have just been a standard escort mission, right? He held in the urge to spit in their direction as the voices began to fade.

Kiba felt a tickle underneath his chin as Akamaru peeked out of his coat. The puppy growled quietly with each quick breath, mirroring Kiba's jealously.

He pat the little dog's head, "That should have been our mission." His harsh words cut through the tense air.

Hinata winced, annoying Kiba further.

"That's not entirely true." his even more, if that were possible, quiet teammate Shino spoke up.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "What?"

Shino remained unmoved, he was like a slightly-more-vocal statue… which was stupidly accurate since Kiba rarely saw his mouth move as he spoke. "We wouldn't have received that mission. Even if we beat Team 7 to the administrators."

"Oh. really." Kiba annunciated each dry word.

Hinata glanced back and forth between her teammates. Her lip quivered and mouth parted slightly, as if to add something to the argument.

"What do you think, Hinata?" Kiba bantered; then her mouth snapped shut. "Shino's got it wrong, doesn't he?"

Hinata looked down, digging her chin into her chest.

"I don't know."

A small pang of guilt wormed its way into Kiba's gut. That girl could be so ridiculous. Someday he'd get her to fight for herself- maybe. Until then…Fine. He'd just keep his opinions to himself. Not like anyone bothered to agree with them anyway. Why was everyone in the leaf village such an ass?

Kiba slid off the large branch, not bothering to say goodbye to his team. He landed softly on the ground, and hustled far away. Opposite from the group of friends reminiscing about their time in the land of water.

He was so engrossed in his own hatred and annoyance he hardly noticed the woman leaning backward against the trunk of another tall tree. Akamaru whimpered, confusing the angry young man and he ceased his irate marching.

"Kiba." A smooth voice grabbed his attention, making him jump in surprise. Shit, why didn't he notice her smell there a minute ago? His shoulders drooped down. _So, she's probably heard everything then._ He scowled at his sensei quietly.

"You are letting him win." Kurenai stated flatly. He resisted the urge to give her the finger, knowing exactly who she was talking about. _Naruto_. He seethed. _Was beating him?!_ Never. Absolutely never. Not in this lifetime.

"I am a thousand times stronger than that clown." He snapped. "I just- It's" His words failed at that point.

Kiba shook his head. He just wanted to go for a walk…or anything, really, that could help calm him down after the long, lousy morning.

She sighed and uncrossed her arms.

"Come with me."

"It's not fair."

"Kiba." Her voice hardened. Kiba tensed, bracing himself for another lecture, but when none came he looked towards Kurenai.

"We have a mission." She started toward the rest of his team, "I think you might like it."

* * *

**AN** \- Yuup thats Ami. Hope she's not super overused in OC fics.

Thanks for reading. The reviews so far were so nice to see :)

FYI, expect small changes in the world. If you haven't noticed, they'll be several years older here. I'd almost dare to call this AU in that way but it's really not too crazy. **Call me out if things get stupid, please!**

I am in no way a Naruto expert. If I mess up any details so terribly that it ruins suspension of disbelief? Oops.

Thanks for following!


	3. Chapter 3

Kaiya eyed the door stiffly, almost certain it had no lock.

Her lips tightened back and she rubbed circles above her eyebrows. How easy would it be to just...leave?

"You're quite the salesman, Naruto," she sighed, deciding then to blame the certain blond-haired guy for her gullibility.

It wasn't one specific thing he had told her about the village; it was the combination of everything he'd said. About how big it was compared to the land of waves; how beautiful the forests and mountain ranges were. There were canyons to explore and waterfalls flowing into massive lakes they weren't forced to see at all times. How there was so much food she just _had_ to try.

A familiar gurgling noise conveniently churned in her stomach at the thought. Kaiya took that pain and used it to distract herself from the growing urge to pee. The scarred bastard didn't even offer her a bathroom break. _Rude ass_ could have at least introduced himself as he threatened to kill her. Or given her a cookie or something.

If she thought _he_ was bad, just how terrible must the Hokage be?

She turned to look out the window, trying to remind herself why she'd wanted to be there, again. The morning sun still hung low in the sky, slowly rising. The colors were almost too saturated here, like she'd been given new eyes. The tree's were so brilliantly green and full she'd wanted nothing more than to pinch the firm leaves and savor their life. It was no wonder the village got its name.

The buildings were painted with warm, joyful tones, none appearing chipped or faded.

The majority of civilians on their morning routes walked by in stylish clothes that put Kaiya's to shame. She gulped softly and looked down at herself, feeling a bit dull. Just a grungy shirt that hung a smidge off her shoulder and some baggy shorts. All of her old clothes were back at Zabuza's temporary property, so she borrowed the only thing from Tsunami that wasn't an uncomfortable dress. At least she still had the pair of quality sandals Haku had bought for her.

Rays of light pricked her eyes back up to see a large cloud rolling through the sun. She closed her eyes and let a deep breath out.

.

xxx

.

The door cracked opened and Kaiya jumped from her seat, blinking rapidly until the starbursts shrunk into lightbulbs by the exit.

_Idiot! Did you fall asleep?_

"Kaiya," A woman announced gently, "are you doing okay?"

An emotional weight instantly fell from Kaiya's shoulders, but she frowned with skepticism and a touch of embarrassment.

"I'm Kurenai Yuuhi," she continued with a smile, "My team and I will be taking you to a safe-house for the day."

Her stomach flipped, completely sure this was another trick. There'd been no way she could have actually passed that _interview_. Even if she had, Kaiya still wasn't sure if she'd _wanted_ to stay!

"Thanks," she whispered anyway.

Jealousy and admiration warped her train of thought- it was another team, just like Naruto's! A confusing laugh started to bubble deep inside, but she'd suppressed it once she'd left the room. Two younger men stood on both sides of Kurenai and another girl hid a bit further behind the rest. They were so... cute?

Kaiya's eye twitched at the thought of being a part of a group like this. Her mind had changed again; she _needed_ to be there. How wonderful would it be to have girl friends like Sakura? People around her own age to confide in who weren't inherently terrifying like the Mist and water-born shinobi she'd crossed. But, where would she fit in? Three genin to one jonin; that's what Sakura had told her. Naruto had seemed just as disappointed as she when Kakashi confirmed as such.

Kurenai had started speaking again, but Kaiya lost her ability to comprehend the words. She suddenly felt warmth and love buzzing throughout her whole body, not fear and intimidation. Odd; for some reason she felt that it'd have been a bad idea to look away from Kurenai's scarlet gaze.

Kaiya would've had a mind to be suspicious of that- though at this point, she couldn't go against it. She didn't have the energy to think anymore.

Like an answered prayer, the rather beautiful young woman stepped from behind Kurenai and offered Kaiya a bottle of water; she could have hugged her.

"Thanks..." her face flushed. She felt like an idiot who could only babble in one-word sentences. A headache was pounding her eyes shut, but at least she didn't have to throw up anymore, "Can we go now?"

.

xxx

.

This mission was not as thrilling as Kiba had expected.

His fingers were tight on the edges of his seat when Kurenai, mindlessly, slid a folder across the grainy dining-room table over to him.

His teeth were grinding but he managed to smile at her without pinching up his nose too far.

"-Thanks." He flicked open the folder and crinkled the pages in front of his face. Each passing paragraph made him more and more confused. Its like he was missing something; this was _not_ the same person they'd just picked up from interrogation.

Kiba pushed onto the back two legs of his unstable chair and thunked his head on the wall, glancing between his teammates and a block of text. Hinata, on his left, turned a page; and Shino, on his right, could have either been sleeping or reading earnestly. Kurenai didn't even flinch. He stretched his arms up to yawn vigorously and smacked his mouth. They were ignoring him on purpose.

He should have been appreciating Kurenai-sensei for breaking her back to get this job. The effort she'd made was sweet, but Kiba would much rather be digging out shit from dog fur than babysit a civilian who just happened to know a couple bad guys. He skimmed across Naruto's name and he tore the page in half- twice. Something about the shreds drifting to the floor made him feel a bit better.

Scratching the back of his neck, he turned his head over and shrugged at Akamaru who, with valiant courage, decided to guard the bedroom door.

_"I don't get it either,_ " Akamaru barked.

Kiba growled internally, there's no way he'd be able to brag about this mission to the guys like Naruto could. Enough is enough.

He creaked the chair back down and slapped the papers still left on the table with an open palm, his other thumb pointed back at the room behind them. "There's no way that girl off'ed a bunch of gangsters." He crumpled one of the pictures and shoved it in Kurenai's face for greater effect.

Kurenai's brow arched, but her eyes stayed on her reading, "Is that so?" Kiba's fist tightened the picture into a ball.

"She's got the temperament of a koi," he grumbled with crossed arms.

Hinata hid a smirk behind her hand and Kiba's mouth twitched up. At least _someone_ appreciated the quip.

"What else can you deduce from your brief encounter?" Kurenai challenged.

"Eh-" Kiba's brow furrowed and mind reeled. What else could he say? The whole team could probably go their separate ways for their own naps and no one would be the wiser.

"We're listening," she stacked together the papers Kiba had spread over the table, "I'm sure your thorough analysis is far superior to Kakashi's."

"Yeah, uh. I don't know about-" Kiba glanced at one of the papers she'd just removed from him, hoping to catch a thought to build from. Stupid mission. He would not be made a fool!

Shino broke the silence, "It doesn't matter what one's temperament is. Everything is capable of fight-or-flight." _Yeah, duh_. "We need to make sure she doesn't try either of those."

"Yes," Kurenai said, "We also need to keep her safe before the Hokage can grant her asylum."

Kiba rolled his eyes, "Well, I have a feeling this is gonna be a _long_ day."

Eyes shut tightly, Kurenai slapped down the stack of papers on the table, "Why don't you go do some research then. I'm sure we'd do well to learn a bit more from the perspective's of your peers. Go ask team 7 some questions." She extended her arm over at the front door.

_Yeah right_ , like he'd ever directly ask Naruto about _that_ mission. _No. Way._ What could he even ask- what her favorite color was?

Something in Kiba's body language must have alerted Kurenai his thoughts; as he looked toward her a cold shiver ran through his body. Her face had turned into something…sinister.

" _Fine,_ jeez. You're worse than my mom."

"Can I come too?" Hinata bounced up, head cocked to the side.

He didn't allow Kurenai-sensei the chance to respond. Akamaru had leapt onto Kiba's head and he ushered Hinata to the door, but before they'd left he had an idea that gave him a smug grin.

"Hey Shino," he smirked over his shoulder, "You mind checking out the library for information on Yuki clansmen? There's gotta be _tons_ of history there." There, genius. Busywork all-around.

His teammate looked over to Kurenai. "Is that okay?"

Kurenai beamed, "Okay with me. Just be productive." Kiba sucked inward to avoid mocking her words.

Damn, he really needed to work on that. An image of his sensei's excited face crossed his mind and suddenly he felt really shitty. There was such a heartwarming happiness in her voice when explaining the scope of the mission to them. She wouldn't admit it, but Team 8's genin all knew she'd been stalking the Hokage's office, eager to jump on an opportunity like this for her team. She was a great sensei.

He ruffled Akamaru's body and the little dog bared his tiny toothy smile. She didn't deserve to be put down by some sarcastic jackass.

.

xxx

.

"Hinata," Kiba grunted, "You have to _move forward!_ " She'd frozen herself behind a pole, whimpering. _What the hell_ , she's the one who asked to be here and do this stupid thing!

"What is it with you and Naruto?" he sighed and looked toward Team 7 who'd congregated themselves outside of an old training ground. The fence, tall as a building, was padlocked and covered in overgrowth. What on earth had they been doing there?

Kiba sniffed. The kid had been too easy to find. Almost immediately when they'd left the house he knew where he was- it was like Naruto had no capability of whispering. Even before he heard him though, Kiba could smell the brat, as always. Not that he'd smelled naturally terrible; he'd just probably needed someone to teach him about laundry- he snickered to himself.

Hinata clutched tighter onto her hiding place when Naruto laughed and peaked into the fence like a weirdo.

Kiba sighed and let Hinata go. Her hands were tethered to the structure and she wouldn't be moved. Oh well, she was brave for trying.

"Yo Naruto, what're you trying to get in there?" Kiba sneered at him with his hands dug into his pockets.

"I thought I remembered coming here before..." He turned to Kiba with a large grin then searched around, "Where's Kaiya? Kakashi-sensei told us your team was watching over her, right? I've gotta show her something!"

Akamaru barked once and Kiba gave a frustrated smile. He had to refrain himself from saying something inappropriate. He was on a job, after all.

"Yeah, uh, she's napping right now. So we wanted to come ask you guys some things."

"I can't wait!" Naruto spun around and looked up, "I hope she gets to join our team."

Kiba's jaw unhinged, he'd completely ignored what he'd said! What would Hinata think if he went and swiped him across the face?

"Idiot!" Sakura growled, "You already know she can't join a team of three!"

"Ahh, I know, I was just hoping maybe they'd make an exception or something," he mumbled off and sat to the ground.

Sakura spoke toward Kiba, "Thanks, by the way. We would have offered to escort her to the Hokage but Kakashi told us to take some days off." She shrugged. "Oh, well. She'll get used to you."

Kiba frowned, "Is she really that," what's a nice word for… "skittish?"

"Not really that, just a bit quiet maybe." Sakura said and Kiba glanced back at Hinata. Oh _how boring_.

"Yeah it took her a week to even look at me." Naruto stuck his tongue out.

"That's not true, stupid. You're not helping." Sakura chided.

Kiba pinched the bridge of his nose and Akamaru felt limp, like he'd fallen asleep. He wished he could have just gone and talked to Sasuke who wasn't too far off, in his own world. He'd probably been the least biased of the group; but Kiba couldn't be bothered anymore.

"Alright well thanks." Kiba saluted his goodbye.

"Wait…" Hinata spoke up behind him, wiping the sweat from her hands off on her shirt. _There she is_ , Kiba smiled.

"We were told to ask you... Are you sure she's not planning something... dangerous?" Hinata spoke quickly and out of breath.

"Oh!" Sakura said, "I think you won't have to worry about that. We didn't get to see her train much, but-"

"Oh yeah! I wish I could have seen her to that ice thing!" Naruto looked up into the sky, visualizing something that Kiba tried hard to not think about, himself. Sakura yelled out more frustrations but Kiba jumped at the opportunity.

"What ice thing? Do you think she'll attack the Hokage?" _Or us?_

"You all need to shut up," Sasuke said. His eyes narrowed at Kiba, and Kiba returned the gesture, "It's not a big deal- the only thing she'd do is run back."

_That could be fun too_ , Kiba's mouth twitched and he rubbed his chin- fantasizing a bit too hard at the thought of chasing someone down. Hunting people was _really_ fun.

"She's really bent out of shape on Kage. Zabuza screwed with her head." Sasuke said.

Hn, that's interesting.

"Zabuza was trying to overthrow the Mizukage, right? Had Kaiya mentioned ideas like that?"

"No, she didn't. What I think you should do is go back and watch her closer, if you care. She'll probably run when she gets the chance." Sasuke scoffed.

"Rrgh, no she's not! She's going to find a team here to join and we can all train together." Naruto shot back.

Hinata grabbed Kiba's arm and he snapped his head toward her.

"I'm sure we won't have to worry about that," she grinned in such a genuinely sweet way amidst the arguing Kiba broke into a laugh. He looked back to the chaotic team in front of him, wondering how the hell they managed to get out of that place alive with their team work the way it was.

"Hinata what happened to your arms?!" Naruto screamed near directly into Kiba's eardrum and ran to her.

Hinata's cheeks turned pink and Naruto pulled her aside to give some terrible advice on what she should do to avoid other possible accidents. Sasuke was nowhere to be found.

"She won't run." Sakura, the only member left over, said. Kiba didn't feel like talking about it anymore. _Don't ruin the fun._

"So did Naruto actually get to fight back there?" Kiba watched Naruto make some big, strange gestures. _What was he talking about_? Hinata had laughed and her shoulders straightened out a bit more. She was too nice to have to be dealing with that.

"It was hard to tell at first," Sakura started, "but yeah. He did."

" _Really?_ " Kiba didn't want to believe it. The kid barely even graduated! He got to have a fight before _he_ did, for real?

"Yeah," Sakura laughed softly. "But if you're that desperate I'm sure Kaiya would be happy to spar with you too," She smirked at him and his face paled. _Damn it._

"Tch. Hinata, let's go."

"-But...Okay." Kiba didn't think he'd have to be dragging her away from Naruto the same way he needed to get her _to_ him.

"Bye Hinata!" Naruto yelled, "And don't worry, Kiba! I'm sure you'll have as much fun in one day as we did all month!" he cackled while Kiba visualized a terribly graphic image of him with his chest ripped out.

"Why do you like that guy so much?" he sighed and Hinata's breath hitched. All she responded with was a darker blush.

* * *

AN- A little short, sorry, but a decent stopping point I hope. Thanks~

**Author's Note:**

> Crossposting to ff.net :)


End file.
